“I hate when people say that kind of stuff because I agree, it’s a sacrifice if you’re actually a good father.”
If you want your child to have travel freedom, then this parenting hack is for you.
In a viral TikTok video uploaded on Nov. 30, Amber Leffew — a mom of three who travels often — urged her followers and fellow moms everywhere to “create SkyMiles accounts” for their kids early.
Her reasoning not only made sense, but had parents rethinking their strategy when traveling with kids.
“As a cyber wife, please create an email account for your children and create SkyMiles accounts for them so they can accumulate miles every trip,” she wrote in a text overlay.
“By the time they are 18 they’ll have enough miles to go anywhere!!” she added in the caption. “Best senior trip ever loading!!”
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For those who don’t travel often, SkyMiles is Delta Air Lines' free-to-join loyalty program where members earn "miles" for flying Delta, using co-branded credit cards, or purchasing everyday goods and services.
The “miles” can be redeemed for flights, upgrades, hotels or merchandise — and generally don’t expire.
In an interview with People, published Jan. 9, Leffew revealed that she decided to create Delta SkyMiles accounts for each of their three children due to her husband’s “constant work travel.”
"We had some leisure trips on the horizon and wondered if the children could generate miles for themselves,” she told the outlet — adding that her children have a combined 25,000 miles so far.
“After researching briefly, we learned that it was a simple process that is incredibly advantageous to our children!" she added.
And if you feel like you’re cheating the system, don’t worry — Delta Airlines is all for it.
“Mom knows ball,” the airline commented under Leffew’s video.
How to create Delta SkyMiles account for children
Leffew wasn’t lying when she said that opening a Delta SkyMiles account was easy.
The entire process can be completed online in just a few minutes and won’t require you to reveal the child’s social security number, photo or any other sensitive information.
It will, however, ask for your child’s first, middle and last name, their date of birth, and gender — and you’ll need to check a box to confirm that you’re the child’s parent or guardian (if under the age of 13).
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Next, you’ll need to input your address, phone number and email address.
As Leffew stated, it’s best to create an email account specifically for your child — especially since there’s so much more that you can do with the email, which will be discussed in more detail below.
Last but not least, you’ll need to create a unique username and password for the Delta SkyMiles account.
These parenting tips go far beyond Delta SkyMiles
It appears Leffew isn’t the first parent to open a Delta SkyMiles account for her child.
Many TikTok users took to the comment section to share that their parents did so for them years, even decades ago — including one user who has “been collecting miles since 1990.”
“My 1 year old has 20k miles,” another user commented.
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But don’t stop at Delta SkyMiles — after all, there are plenty of airline rewards programs to sign up for!
“Yep, I created an email for my toddler and created SkyMiles, American, United, SW. Mostly fly United, but any airline we fly she will accumulate those miles while she’s young!” one father wrote under the post.
According to CNBC, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United offer “miles” that don’t expire.
“Oh and if you use uber you can attach the SkyMiles and Marriott Bonvoy account as well to earn miles and points,” another user wrote. “Lyft you can attach Hilton and United Mileage account.”
Plus, once you create an email account for your child, you can use it for so much more.
“I started an email for my oldest at birth and used it for her schooling, she has messages, accomplishments, grades, shoutouts from PreK she is 10th grade now,” another parent commented.
Leffew, who responded to that comment, said she even writes emails to her kids for future reference.
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“I’ve emailed my kiddos intermittently and I can’t wait until they get access to the account one day and they can read all of the emails,” Leffew wrote.
